Automatic digger and conveyer.



PATENTED MAY l5 P. H. STAUCH. AUTOMATIC BIGGER AND UONVEYBR.

APLIGATION FILED AFR.9.1903.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

@milk/Lemos PATEN'IED MAY 15, 1906.

P. H. STAUGH. AUTOMANG BIGGER AND GONVEYBB..

APPLICATION FILED APR. E), 1903.

2 SHEETS-SHEET HHM.

Y from one place to another.

bined digger and conveyer 1s exceedlnglyl .lli

STATES FATFNT' FFlE.

ivo. 820,829.

Specification of Letters Patent.

,Patented May 15, 1.906.

pplication filed April 9. 1903. Serial No. 151,864. s

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, PHILIP HENRY STAUCH, a citizen ofthe United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State ol Illinois, have invented a new and useful Automatic Digger and Conveyer, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to a combined digger and conveyer.

The object of the present invention is to provide a simple, inexpensive, and efficient ap aratus designed particularly for use in go d-i'ields for digging into sand and the like and adapted to convey such material from the place or point Where it is dug to a convenient point for separating the particles of different sizes.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists in the construction .and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended, it beingunderstood that various changes in the form, proportion, size, and minor details of construction Within the sco e of the claims may be resorted to without eparting from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention. y v

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a combined digger and conveyer constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same. Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view'olf the casing ofthe combine fan and conveyer. Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view on the line 7 7 of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view of a portion of the conveyer, iliustrating the arrangement of the outer covering of waterproof material.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawm s.

g1 designates a supporting-frame designed to be constructed of wood or any other suitable material and consisting of uprights or standards 2 and a connecting top portion 3 but any other form of frame may be employed for supporting the conveyer, and the said frame may also be provided with any suitable means for enabling it to be drawn As the comlight, it maybe convenienti carried from one point to another, as Will e readily understood.

1 1 designates a flexible conveyer consistin of a spira ly-coiled piece of resilient materia which is flat in crossesection, as clearly illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings. The spirally-coiled s ring, constituting the conveyer, is prefers. ly provided Withsharp peripheral cutting edges 11, and it is connected at one end wit a sleeve or hub extension 12 of a ulley 13, which may be driven by any suita le means. The front end oi' the flexible conveyer may be supported by anysuitable form of bearing, if desired, and augersections 14 may be secured within the central opening formed by spirally coiling the dat s ring of the llexible conveyer, and these s ort lengths of auger-sections 14 do not interfere with the flexibility of the conveyer, which is adapted to operate on a mass of material. The augersections it form a spirally-twisted core or central portion for the spirally-coiled conveyer-strip, and they assist in conveying the materiaf The apparatus is especially designed for operating on sandy soil in gold districts; but it may be advantageously employed for handlin grain', coal, or an other suitable materiain bulk, and the en of the conveyer may be inserted into a mass ofv material at any point, and it will'positively convey the material inward through it. The outer movable portion :of the flexible cnveyer is arranged Within a-tubularshell or casing 15, of iiexible material, adapted to oscillate with the flexible conveyer, as illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 1 of the drawings, to enable the conveyer to operate on different portions of the mass of material,l `and the outer portion of the flexible conveyer and its inclosing shell may be of any desired length to Vermit the desired amount of movement, so t at the apparatus may o erate over a predetermined area without c anging the position of the supporting-frame. Thel au er-sections are splrally twisted, and they c ose the central opening or space formed by coiling the resilient stri or ribbon to form the conveyer; but any ot er suitable means may be provided for effecting this result, or the center of the conveyer may be left open. The outer secf tion of the auger and the outer end of the conveyer may pro'ect be ond the iexible shell or casing, as clearly s own in Fig. 1, to

venable them to operate more effectively on the material.

The exible tubular shell 15 is constructed of a spirally-coiled Wire or strip of resilient IOO IIO

i other suitable Waterproof material, to enthe casing 16,

able the apparatus to be employed for conveying water from a stream or other source ofsupply. The innerend of the flexible inclosing tubular shell of the conveyer extends into a combined fan and conveyer casing 16, composed of upper and lower tubular portions v17 and 18 and a connecting hollow portion or neck 19, forming a passage and provided at the bottom with air-inlet openings 20, located directly above the lower tubular portion. A fan 21 operates in the upper tubular portion of the casing and is rotated by a pulley 22, which is designed to be connected with a suitable motive power. The fan consists of a spirally-coiled sprin mounted on a shaft 26, journaled in suitable bearings 27 and 28 of the upper portion of the fancasin The shaft 26, which forms a central core or the spirally-coiled sprin of the fan 21, extends beyond the outer en of the casing 16 to receive the said pulley 22. bearing 27 is formed in the outer end Wall of and the other bearing 28 coni, ssts of a perforatedlug or flange depending from the top of the casing 16, near the inner end thereof. The inner end of the casing 16 is provided with a hinged door 25, adapted to be swun upward to afford access to the interior. herotation of the fan creates a suction and carries the line dust into an enlarged annular portion 29 of the upper portion of the casing and through upper and lower openings 30 and 31', and it thereby serves as both a fan and a conveyer.

It will be seen that the combined digger and conveyer, which is designed for digging material from the earthl or from a pile or mass, 'is adapted to convey the lmaterial a distance from the point where the s ame is taken up andthat itis capable of being readily handled and of being quickly moved lthrough a mass of material It may be constructed of any desired diameter to adapt it for thel character of work to be performed and the kind of material to be handled.

What I claim is- 1. An apparatus ofthe class described provided with a conveyer having a covering, the conveyer being extended beyondl the covering to enable it to dig intothe material to be conveyed, and both the conveyer and the covering being flexible to permit the extended end of the former to be moved about the material from one point to another.

2; A conveyer, comprising a rotary spirally-coiled strip of flat resilient material, and a covering for the same, said covering being ilexible to permit the conveyer to be moved about the material operated on.

3. Ina-n apparatus of the class described, the combination of a flexible shell or casing,

The

and means carried by the shell or casing for conveying material through the same, substantially as described.

4. An apparatus of the class described provided with a flexible conveyer, and having an auger movable with the conveyer, substantially as described.

5. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of a flexible conveyer consisting of spirally-coiled resilient material, an auger carried by the conveyer, and means for rotating the conveyer, substantially as described.

6. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of a flexible tubular shell or casing fixed at one end, a flexible conveyer extending through the shell or casing and movable with the same, and means for rotating the conveyer, substantially as described.

7. In an apparatus of the class described,4

the combination of a flexible tubular shell or casing fixed at one end, a flexible conveyer extending through the shell or casing, an auger carried by the conveyer and located at the outer end thereof, and means for rotatingV the conveyer, substantially as described.

8. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of a ilexible tubular shell or casing fixed at one point, a flexible conveyer consisting of a spirally-coiled piece of resilient material, auger-sections secured to the conveyer, and means for rotating the latter, substantially as described.

9. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of a flexible tubular shell fixed' at one point and composed of spirallycoiled material, a flexible conveyer extending through the shell or casing and movable with the same, and means for-rotating the conveyer, substantially as described.

10. The combination of a tubular conveyer-casing having a flexible outer portion and provided at the inner portion with an outlet for the material, and a ilexible spiral conveyer'operating Within the conveyer-casing, substantially as described.

11. The combination of a casing having approximately parallel tubular portions, and an intermediate connectin -passa e, aneck extending throughout the ength o the said tubular portions, spirally-coiled strips located Within the tubular portions of the casings, and means for rotating the spirally-coiled strips, substantially as described.

12. A conveyer,com rising a spirally-coiled strp havin a centra longitudinal opening, an a spira core located Within the central opening, substantially as described.

13. A conveyer,com rising a spirally-coiled stri havin a centra longitudinal opening an a spira core located within the central openin and composed of short sections, sub stantia ly as described.

IIO

saone@ strip having a centra opening, and a s iral core arranged within the opening an eX- 'tending beyond the spiral `Xstrip, substantially as described.

15. A conveyer, comprising a tubular casing having a flexible outer portion, a spirallycoiled conveyer-strip located Within the tubular casing and having a' central lon itudinal opening, and a spiral core arrange Within the opening and composed of sections and extended beyond the front end of the strip, substantially as described. y.

16. A conveyer, comprising a tubular casing having a flexible outer portion, a spirallycoiled conveyer-strip located Within the tubular casing and havin a central longitudiy nal openingI anda spira core arranged withn in the opening and composed of sections, said strip and core being extended beyond the casi-ng, substantially as described.

17. A conveyer, comprising a tubular casing, a spirally-coiled strip having a central opening, and a spiral core located within the central opening, said strip and core being eX- tended beyond the casing.

18. A conveyer, comprising a tubular cas ing, a spirally-eoiled strip having a .central openingI and a spiral core locate-d Within the central opening and extending beyond the tubular "casing,

In testimony that l claim the foregoing as my oWn l have hereto affixed rny signature in the presence of two witnesses.

PHILIP HENRY STAUCH.

Witnesses: I

HENRY ENGELHARDT, CHARLES W. ENGELHARDT. 

